A TELEVISION chef has told how she stepped in after hearing that her elderly
mother was on an end-of-life care pathway despite staging a dramatic
recovery.

Rustie Lee refused permission for her mother Eugenie Edwards, 87, to be placed on the Supportive Care Pathway (SCP) – similar to the controversial Liverpool Care Pathway – at Birmingham City Hospital after suffering heart and kidney failure.

She was expected to live only 48 hours but recovered enough to be discharged from hospital only six days later.

The television star said that her mother was already showing signs of improvement and was able to eat by the time she was told that doctors had placed her on the pathway.

The SCP, which is used in hospitals in Birmingham, involves “rationalising” the amount of medication given to patients judged to be approaching the end of their lives. It does not involve withdrawing food or fluids.